1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable load handling cart and in particular to a wheeled cart having support means which are variable in number and location to hold different types of loads in a manner permitting manual maneuvering of the cart and the supported load.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of wheeled carts are known for the purpose of supporting loads to permit both manual maneuverability, usually termed "dollying" and storage of the load. However, known wheeled carts have been unduly complex in design, expensive to manufacture and not well suited for supporting loads, such as motorized vehicles which have support points that vary in number and location to permit dollying thereof. Vehicles present many unique problems which make their support by a one maneuverable wheeled cart quite difficult. For example, vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, tractors, airplanes, etc. come in a wide variety of types and sizes: some with separate frames, some with unitary body and frames, and all having varying recommended support points which frequently must be used to avoid twisting or warping damage to the vehicle. Repair shops frequently receive damaged and disabled vehicles and because of the damage find themselves unable to support the vehicle to permit its maneuverability using any of the recommended support points. Automotive restoration shops frequently completely disassemble the vehicle and have need to maneuverably support only the body or only the chassis comprising the engine and frame without wheels.
In the prior art it has been the practice to provide specialized carts each tailored to support a specific type of load and therefore existing carts lacked versatility and scope of use. In an effort to provide versatility, wheeled carts have been designed for supporting each individual wheel of a vehicle as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,605, issued Sep. 1, 1987 to Albert V. Coccaro. However, if the vehicle ties are damaged, if the tires and rim have been removed from the vehicle, or if only the body must be maneuvered, this type of apparatus cannot be used to dolly the vehicle. Further, in order to dolly a vehicle, four dollies are required which increases expense. Wheeled carts heretofore known for supporting general loads, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,845 issued Feb. 10, 1987 to Timothy W. Hewitt, do not provide any suitable means for quickly establishing a greater or lesser number of support points on the dolly nor do they provide universal adjustability over the entire area of the cart for the location of such support points to meet an infinite variety of support requirements.